Comparative study of social networks in post-socialist Western Balkan countries. Formal and informal networking for information diffusion

Tuna Emelj, Bogdanov Natalija, Nikolic Aleksandra and Simonovska Ana
Additional contact information
Tuna Emelj: University ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food– Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia.
Bogdanov Natalija: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Republic of Serbia.
Nikolic Aleksandra: University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Simonovska Ana: University ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food– Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia.

Eastern European Countryside, 2020, vol. 26, issue 1, 105-125

Abstract: Rural areas in the Western Balkan are faced with severe socio-economic and political challenges, including a lack of access to knowledge and information as well as scepticism about formal forms of cooperation. Yet, the evidence regarding the influence of social capital and network structures on the access of the rural population to information and knowledge in these countries is still sparse, even though this can be one of the most influential factors shaping rural development. In this paper, a multi-country comparison was applied to provide empirical evidence of the existing level of social capital structures (networks) in North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conducted analyses indicate that even with the low participation rates, all farmers, both members and non-members of organisations, perceived membership in formal organisations as useful. Additionally, the results support the presumption that even sparse informal networks, mostly built on strong personal ties, are more effective channels for information transfer in the absence of efficient/active formalised types of cooperation. This implies that rural development policy should be crafted in a way to transform farmers from passive subjects into creative actors, particularly in sharing and promoting good practices.

Keywords: social capital; rural development; transition; Western Balkan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.12775/eec.2020.005 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:eaeuco:v:26:y:2020:i:1:p:105-125:n:5

DOI: 10.12775/eec.2020.005

Access Statistics for this article

Eastern European Countryside is currently edited by Andrzej Kaleta

More articles in Eastern European Countryside from Sciendo
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().